The United States And The Federal Convention - 921 Words

The United States had some fundamental problems in the late 1780 s. Many saw this and were looking for a way to produce a national government that would be more than the virtually powerless government the United States currently had. Pennsylvania was represented in the federal convention by a larger delegation than any of the other states. Pennsylvania had 8 delegates at the Congressional Convention. Those delegates were George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimmons, Benjamin Franklin, Jared Ingersoll, Thomas Mifflin, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, and James Wilson. Benjamin Franklin devised the Great Compromise (or the Connecticut Compromise) in which each state’s representation in the House of Representatives would be based on population†¦show more content†¦His theory required the direct election of as many representatives as possible; to him, an appointed President was as dangerous, or at least as onerous, as a monarch. He is considered responsible for our peculiar Elector al College. When the Convention took up the question of the President, they had a few decisions to make: single individual or committee? Appointed or elected? And what powers should the President, in whatever form, be able to carry out? The debate started on June 1, when Wilson almost immediately moved that the Executive be a single person. States rightists wanted a weak executive; nationalists a strong one. Wilson noted that each of the states had single executives; the idea is well-known and seemed to work. When it came to a vote, the single executive prevailed. (http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_ccon.html) and Thomas Fitzsimons was on the Second Committee of Eleven which considered issues concerning uniform duties and fees His attendance at the Constitutional Convention was regular, but he did not make any outstanding contributions to the proceedings. He was,however, a strong nationalist.He opposed universal suffrage and contended that the privilege of voting should be restr icted to freeholders. He favored giving Congress the power to tax exports as well as imports, and argued that the House ofShow MoreRelatedJames Madison And The Federal Convention757 Words   |  4 PagesConstitution may have looked like had James Madison gotten his way at the debates in the Federal Convention. Initially, Madison’s vision of government lined up with the Virginia Plan presented by Edmund Randolph to the Federal Convention on May 29th, 1787. This plan stressed the interest of a stronger national government, with representation in the legislative branch based on the apportionment of people, instead of states. 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